Nuggets Week in Review (Nov. 2 – Nov. 8)

The Nuggets started a six-game road trip last week and did so with a bang, getting wins at Indiana and New Jersey. They fizzled at the end of the week, getting beat at Miami and Atlanta. This week they finish at Chicago and Milwaukee.

Adding injury to insult was the loss of Kenyon Martin, who is out for a few days with a lower left leg contusion. Martin had successfully avoided the injury bug and started the season off well in all areas – scoring, rebounding and defensively – but will be sidelined a while. That puts pressure on his teammates to step up their defensive efforts as Martin is the Nuggets best defender.

A look back:

Nov. 3: Nuggets 111, Pacers 93
The Nuggets pushed their record to 4-0 as they overcame a slow start to pull away from the Pacers. Carmelo Anthony struggled early but finished with 25 points to lead the Nuggets, while Chauncey Billups came alive in the third quarter and scored 24. Former Nugget Dahntay Jones led the Pacers with 20 points. The Nuggets held Indiana to 39 percent from the field and clamped down on budding star Danny Granger, holding him to 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting.

Nov. 4: Nuggets 122, Nets 94
Denver took advantage of a depleted Nets roster, most notably missing guard Devin Harris, and dismantled them in the second half to win going away. Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups set the tone in the third, scoring a combined 23 points of the Nuggets’ eye-popping 44 in the quarter. The Nuggets bench also played well. Ty Lawson actually led the team in scoring with 23 points. Arron Afflalo added 15, and the Nuggets improved to 5-0.

Nov. 6: Heat, 96, Nuggets 88
The Nuggets had to lose at some point, and the Heat made sure that was Friday night. Carmelo Anthony did his part – 30 points, eight rebounds – but the rest of the team woke up too late to make a difference. Miami built a 28-point lead and basically cruised from there despite a mini comeback in the fourth. Arron Afflalo scored in double figures for the third straight game, going for 18 points.

Nov. 7: Hawks 125, Nuggets 100
Probably the Nuggets worst showing of the season from a defense and effort standpoint, the Hawks ran all over Denver, which gave up its highest point total of the season. Carmelo Anthony had 30 points and Chauncey Billups added 27, but there was little else for the Nuggets, who allowed Atlanta to shoot 51 percent from the field. The Hawks hit more 3-pointers (8-2), had more rebounds (44-36), more assists (30-18), more blocked shots (9-4) and fewer turnovers (8-10).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: TY LAWSON
The rookie guard took his show on the road and opened eyes with his performances. Lawson averaged 12.0 points on 60 percent shooting from the field, and 2.5 assists. More importantly, the speedster opened the eyes of coach George Karl, who was most impressed with Lawson’s ability to defend.

“He can cover,” Karl said. “The surprise has been, for a rookie, his defensive instincts and his ability to make defensive plays is ahead of the curve.”

But as an added bonus, Lawson is showing a jump shot that is better than advertised. Teams have routinely backed off of him in order to keep him from driving, but Lawson nailed 4-of-7 shots (57 percent) from the 3-point line last week, including 3-for-3 against New Jersey.

MOVE OF THE WEEK: SHOWING CONFIDENCE IN AFFLALO
George Karl ran a couple of out-of-bounds plays for Afflalo against the Pacers and the swingman responded with buckets. That raised Afflalo’s confidence and he went on to score 15 points in that contest and average 14.3 points for the week on 55 percent from the field (21-of-38). Afflalo, who has generally played solid defense, is starting to settle in, which is a good sign for the Nuggets who will need him to show up big each night on both ends of the floor.

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.